UBS Group To Buy Wealthfront For $1.4 Bln

(RTTNews) - UBS Group AG (UBS) on Wednesday said it has agreed to buy Wealthfront, an automated wealth management provider, in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.4 billion.

UBS said this deal will accelerate its growth ambitions in the US, broaden the firm's reach among affluent investors and expand its distribution and capabilities.

With over $27 billion in assets under management and more than 470,000 clients in the US, Wealthfront's platform helps clients easily manage their wealth by providing access to financial planning capabilities, banking services and investment management solutions.

"Adding Wealthfront's capabilities and client base to our global investment ecosystem will significantly boost our ability to grow our business in the US," said Ralph Hamers, Group Chief Executive Officer of UBS. "Wealthfront complements our core business in the US providing wealth management to high net worth and ultra high net worth investors through trusted relationships with financial advisors, and will enhance our long-term ambition to deliver a scalable, digital-led wealth management solution to affluent investors."

Wealthfront will become a wholly owned subsidiary of UBS and will operate as a business within UBS Global Wealth Management Americas. The transaction is currently expected to close in the second half of 2022.

Partnering with UBS will allow Wealthfront to offer our clients additional value-added services and best in class research that will help accelerate our vision to make growing wealth delightfully easy," said David Fortunato, Chief Executive Officer of Wealthfront. "We couldn't be more excited to have found a strategic partner who has the same view on the power of technology as we do. We look forward to providing our service to even more millennial and Gen Z investors."